Jaguar E-PACE interior

Style

Like all the recently updated Jaguars, the E-Pace is noticeably better inside as of 2021 than it used to be.

While it wasn’t all bad, the old E-Pace’s cabin was dark and its plusher bits of trim were spoiled by a number of noticeably cheaper bits. Now, most of the places you touch feel suitably premium and padded.

The basic layout is the same, with the curvy dash and swooping grab handle on the dash designed to make it feel like an F-Type. But all the detail changes mean the rough edges and hollow plastics are mostly gone. It’s still not quite up to the solidity of a BMW X2, however.

The rotary climate control dials are a neat touch. They feel posh and display the temperature within them, but the coolest part is you can pull them out or push them in to vary the level of seat heating or cooling on top trims. It’s so much easier than faffing about with sub-menus in a touchscreen.

There are four trim levels, starting with the basic car, rising through S, SE and on to HSE.

Basic cars don’t even get leather trim or electric adjustment for the seats, so are best avoided. S adds heated and electrically adjustable front seats, LED headlights and power-folding door mirrors. To this, SE adds, auto full beam, a powered tailgate and a Meridian sound system. HSE tops the lot with 20-inch alloys, keyless entry, more luxuriant leather and a digital display in place of traditional dials.

If you like your E-Pace even sportier than the rest, there’s an R Dynamic version of each trim level, which brings sports seats, a bodykit, twin tailpipes and a soft-grain leather steering wheel.